Second trial for man accused of murder starts Monday
LAS CRUCES - A second murder trial for a man accused of killing a Las Cruces business owner in 2019 begins Monday.
This trial will be the second murder trial for Lonnie Gallegos, 40, this year. A previous jury found Gallegos guilty of aggravated battery, unlawful taking of a motor vehicle, and tampering with evidence. However, the same jury deadlocked on whether Gallegos was guilty of murder.
Police believe that Gallegos killed 79-year-old Oscar Amezquita May 9, 2020, as Amezquita dropped off supplies at his shop on the 400 block of South Esperanza Street.
Days later, Gallegos was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, aggravated burglary, unlawful taking of a motor vehicle, and tampering with evidence.
Gallegos has remained in jail since the first trial in May. When his lawyer, Raymond Conley, starts a second trial on Sept. 12, much of the information presented to the jury will likely be the same. The prosecutors, however, have changed.
In this go-around, assistant district attorneys Samuel Rosten and Salvador Guardiola will be prosecuting Gallegos.
Rosten and Guardiola had previously sought to bring the jury to the killing site. However, the presiding judge, 3rd Judicial District Judge Douglas Driggers, denied that request saying it was redundant with the litany of photos and videos the state intends to show the jury.
The trial is scheduled to last five days and begins with jury selection Monday morning.
Justin Garcia is a public safety reporter for the Las Cruces Sun-News. He can be reached at JEGarcia@LCsun-news.com.
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This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: Second trial for man accused of murder starts Monday
